New York New York

Directed by Martin Scorsese

New York, New York (1977) is directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a musical tribute to Scorsese's home town of New York City, and stars Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli as a pair of musicians and lovers. Scorsese explains that he intended the film as a break from the gritty realism that he had become famous for, and sees it as homage to the musical films of Classical Hollywood. The theme song of the film, "New York, New York," found its own success when famed singer Frank Sinatra recorded a cover version of the song in 1979. The song was a popular success, and Sinatra's version has become closely associated with the City of New York.

The day WWII ends, Jimmy, a selfish and smooth-talking musician, meets Francine, a lounge singer. From that moment on, their relationship grows into love as they struggle with their careers and aim for the top.

Director

Martin Scorsese

Writer

Earl Mac Rauch

Mardik Martin

Cast

Liza Minnelli … Francine Evans

Robert De Niro … Jimmy Doyle

Lionel Stander … Tony Harwell

Barry Primus … Paul Wilson

Mary Kay Place … Bernice Bennett

Georgie Auld … Frankie Harte

George Memmoli … Nicky

Murray Moston … Horace Morris

Lenny Gaines … Artie Kirks

Clarence Clemons … Cecil Powell

Kathi McGinnis … Ellen Flannery

Frank Sivero … Eddie Di Muzio

Trivia

• Originally four and a half hours long. Director Martin Scorsese cut it to 153 minutes, then to 136 minutes. In 1981 some material (mainly the 'Happy Endings' sequence) was restored and the film became 163 minutes long.
• The blonde woman observed by Robert De Niro dancing with the sailor under the subway tracks at night is Liza Minnelli in a wig.
• Liza Minnelli used her mother's (Judy Garland's) old dressing room, her mother's old hairdresser (Sydney Guilaroff) and worked on mother's old MGM sound stages during the filming of this. Additionally, during interviews she did her mother's famous "oh-uh, ah, ohs" with hand gestures.